Boston College Athletics
2002 Men's Soccer Outlook
September 24, 2002 | Men's Soccer
Head coach Ed Kelly can't wait to get the 2002 season started. Coming off two consecutive seasons in which the Eagles earned NCAA Tournament trips, Kelly and his troops are poised to make a run at a third straight postseason berth.
The Eagles return 11 players who made seven or more starts in 2001. Kelly will seek to replace his three departed starters with some of his talented underclassmen from last fall and from a promising crop of newcomers.
Suffice it to say, Kelly and the Eagles have options. The team has experience. The team has depth. And, the team has several players who have proven their ability to excel at multiple positions.
Yet, make no mistake. Kelly, now in his 15th season as the Eagles' head coach, has been in the game too long to think things will be easy. He's been a BIG EAST head coach for 18 years. He knows the fierce competition his team will face in league action. In fact, the talented Eagles were selected fifth in the BIG EAST coaches' preseason poll. Kelly doesn't dispute the rankings, because he knows there are at least a handful of teams who could legitimately vie for the conference crown.
Boston College has several players who can provide the leadership necessary to win. Start with senior forward Casey Schmidt, the 2002 BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Schmidt is eager to get back into form after missing nine matches last fall because of a facial injury suffered against Harvard last September. Despite playing in just nine games in 2001, Schmidt registered 11 points and earned All-BIG EAST third team recognition. Each of his five goals came in the first five games of the season.
Based on his play this past summer, Schmidt is not only eager to return, but he's also well prepared. Playing in the Premier Development League, the BC senior led the Cape Cod Crusaders to their first-ever national title. Schmidt tallied the decisive goal in a 3-2 win in the national semifinals, then netted the game-winning goal in the ninth minute of overtime in the championship game to give the Crusaders the crown.
The Eagles will also look to senior midfielder Bobby Thompson, who played in 17 matches last fall, starting 12. He notched four goals and two assists. Thompson is the Eagles' most experienced player, having seen action in 51 collegiate games through his first three seasons.
Among the team's other stalwarts is sophomore captain Guy Melamed. The back from Nofit, Israel played in and started 17 matches in his first season with the Eagles. He proved his versatility last fall, starting as a key defender, then moving to center midfield early in the season.
Another key performer on defense will be junior Paul Chase. An All-BIG EAST second team selection last fall, Chase displayed his leadership qualities and his defensive tenacity this past summer when he captained the Cape Cod Crusaders in their national title run.
And this quartet just begins the list of players whom Kelly and his staff will count on in 2002. Eight additional lettermen and 10 new additions figure to make the Eagles BIG EAST contenders once again.
IN GOAL
Senior Danny Caruso returns after playing 17 matches last fall, including 16 starts. He finished the 2001 campaign with a 9-8-0 record and a 1.28 goals against average. He posted three shutouts.
Kelly and his staff will also have the chance to evaluate the talents of three newcomers -- two of whom bring valuable collegiate experience. Kyle Singer, a native of Plymouth, Minn., joins the Eagles after playing three years -- 1999, 2000 and 2001 -- at the University of Virginia. Singer registered a 19-9-1 three-year record in the Cavaliers' net.
Mike Cardenas, a teammate of the Eagles' Bobby Thompson at Framingham High School, provides BC with another veteran collegiate goalkeeper. Cardenas played his freshman year at Providence College, and then spent the 2001 season at Boston University.
Bill Miller, a freshman out of Lee, N.H., rounds out the list of goalkeepers. Miller posted 10 shutouts as a senior at St. Thomas Aquinas last fall.
IN THE BACK
The Eagles have a strong combination of veterans and newcomers to provide strength and depth on defense. Despite losing two stalwarts to graduation -- Martin Cantillo and Chris Cleary -- Boston College believes the talent is there to secure the BC goal.
Chase, who saw most of his action at left back last fall, played in and started 16 matches in his first year with the Eagles (after transferring from Providence College). He will likely play center back this season, and he'll probably have the good fortune of being paired with Melamed. Melamed was another Eagle who enjoyed a great deal of success in his first season -- 2001 -- in the program.
Sophomore Pat Haggerty also returns after gaining valuable experience -- and providing stability -- at center back last fall. Haggerty, who hails from Lawrenceville, N.J., made 14 starts in 2001.
Junior Kenny Adams and sophomore Brendan Burke provide Kelly more experienced options. Adams saw action in nine contests last year, making five starts. Burke played in and started one match -- against Brown -- last fall.
Kelly also has high hopes for his newcomers. He believes they can compete for playing time and push the veterans to improve themselves. Freshman Thomas Halpenny, who comes to the Heights from Sierra Madre, Calif., could contend for a starting role. The coaching staff will also monitor the early-season progress of freshmen Brendon Ferullo and Mario Nicholas. Ferullo was an All-New England choice at Algonquin Regional (Mass.) High School last fall, while Nicolas enjoyed a stellar career at Loyola (Calif.) High School.
IN THE MIDFIELD
As previously noted, the combination of talented returnees and highly-regarded newcomers provides the Eagles with options. Nowhere is this point made more clearly than in the team's midfield.
While Bobby Thompson -- as a skillful senior -- figures to spark the midfield attack, he will undoubtedly have plenty of help. Junior Adam Pfeifer was the Eagles' leading scorer last fall. The Newton, Mass. product played both in the midfield and up front and tallied 15 points -- six goals and three assists -- in 18 matches. He finished the campaign as one of the BIG EAST's top scorers.
Classmate Kirt Dorsett also played in all 18 contests in 2001. He made 13 starts and recorded one goal and four assists. Both he and Pfeifer enter the season with 38 collegiate appearances.
Sophomore Bill Arnault returns for a second season that BC coaches and fans can only hope will match his 2001 success. The Clay, N.Y. product was one of only three Eagles to start all 18 matches last fall. He recorded eight assists, the highest single-season total by a BC player since 1995. His production was rewarded at year's end as he captured All-BIG EAST second team honors.
Kelly also has two other returnees -- senior Johnathan Munko and sophomore Junior Desrosiers -- who promise to compete for time on the field. Munko did not see any action during the 2001 season because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Desrosiers played in two matches in his first season at the Heights.
Freshman Uri Magen-David, who hails from La Herradura, Mexico, joins the Eagles as a highly-regarded prospect. Kelly believes he too could fight for game action in the competitive midfield. Ian Sloss, a 2001 All-State selection at Westhill (Conn.) High School., is another freshman who will vie for playing time.
AT FORWARD
 Preseason Big East Player of the Year Casey Schmidt will look to lead the Eagles this season.  |
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Casey Schmidt returns after a rocky 2001 that saw him on the sidelines for much of the season. He had a team-best five goals and one assist through the first five matches of the season, before suffering a facial injury that forced him from the field for nine games. He did return for the final three games. Now, Schmidt, who was the BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2000, has fully recovered. Kelly -- and his BIG EAST counterparts -- all know what Schmidt's full return will mean.
Junior Neil Krause, a large 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound presence, proved his effectiveness last fall. He finished the season as the Eagles' second-leading scorer. He netted five goals and added four assists for 14 points in 18 matches. He made nine starts.
These two returnees alone should be enough to lead the BC offensive charge in 2002. The midfield support -- which includes Pfeifer, who actually started six matches at forward last fall -- and the addition of talented freshman will solidify the attack.
Freshmen Oktay Kilic and John Krause will both push the returning players. Kilic, who hails from Heidelberg, Germany, joins the Eagles after playing the 2001 season with SG Kirchheim, a first division amateur team. He also has extensive experience in international competition.
Krause, the younger brother of fellow forward Neil, joins the Eagles after establishing career records for goals and points at the Rivers (Mass.) School.
IN SUMMARY
The Eagles -- the coaching staff and the players -- are excited about their prospects for the 2002 season. The team returns 12 lettermen, including eight starters, from last year's NCAA Tournament team. Add in a highly-regarded group of newcomers and the Eagles figure to have a strong starting line-up and a bench that can provide depth at each position.
The schedule features eight foes that earned berths in the 2001 NCAA Tournament's College Cup. In addition to five league rivals that gained postseason berths, the Eagles will face American in the adidas/UConn Classic in Storrs, Conn.; play at Harvard; and host Penn State. Penn State, which will visit the Newton Campus Soccer Field on Oct. 26, finished the 2001 season with a 14-5-1 mark and advanced to the tournament's third round.
The Eagles will also meet three additional Ivy League opponents -- Brown, Dartmouth and Yale -- and their traditional rival, Boston University.
A talented team with lots of depth combined with one of the nation's toughest schedules assures BC fans of an exciting 2002 slate. If the team avoids any major injuries and the newcomers contribute as expected, the Eagles could also face some additional challenges -- in the NCAA Tournament.
